Officials seeking progress on I-69 planning

Updated 1:30 am, Thursday, February 7, 2013

The I-69 corridor consists of existing interstate segments and portions of roads that would be upgraded.

The I-69 corridor consists of existing interstate segments and portions of roads that would be upgraded.

Photo: Houston Chronicle

Officials seeking progress on I-69 planning

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AUSTIN — An ambitious multibillion-dollar effort to push forward a new interstate spanning Texas was highlighted at the Texas Capitol on Wednesday as lawmakers struggle with transportation funding needs.

The Texas leg of the Interstate 69 project would stretch from the Lower Rio Grande Valley to Texarkana, tracking U.S. 77 and U.S. 281 in South Texas and U.S. 59 in the Houston area north.

Officials called the project, estimated to cost $16 billion in some mix of primarily state and federal money, important to safety and economic development as goods move north to the Midwest and northeast.

Of the 1,000 miles of the proposed route in Texas, about 70 have been designated by the federal government as interstate quality so far. The goal is to complete half of the overall project in 20 years.

“We'll have to deal with our transportation needs if we want to keep our winning streak going,” Gov. Rick Perry said at a combination of briefing and pep rally to open I-69 Day at the Texas Capitol. Among key points, Perry said that by giving the Valley interstate access for the first time, the project would “spur new growth in that very important region of our state.”

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When completed piecemeal across eight states, Interstate 69 will stretch 1,600 miles. Vitally, for Texas businesses, it will open up Houston and other South Texas ports to the Midwest.

Though some have dubbed it the “NAFTA Superhighway” because it connects Mexican trucks to many Midwestern spots, Texas officials see it differently.

“This is the Houston highway,” said Marc Williams, planning director for the Texas Department of Transportation. “If you take your typical truck, it is much more likely to have come from Houston or the Houston region than to have crossed the border.”

Though the interstate will be a boon for cities along the route, Williams said, the state benefits, ultimately, by having increased economic development and easier access to places along the proposed path.

The road could be a huge boost for business, especially in port cities that dot Southeast Texas. For Harris County, it is another major freight corridor and a critical piece of future development plans, County Judge Ed Emmett said.

But the benefits stretch beyond metro Houston, to cities currently cut off to major freeway traffic, officials said.

San Antonio isn't on the I-69 route, but the project will help the city by providing a more direct route to goods coming up through Laredo and destined for the Midwest and Eastern Seaboard, he said.

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said there hasn't been much discussion of the I-69 project locally, but he was warm to the plan.

“Anything that would be good for South Texas is going to be good for us,” Wolff said. “My initial reaction is, another highway is always a good thing to have.”

Sid Martinez, director of the San Antonio Bexar County Metropolitan Planning Organization, said that looking at the big picture of state mobility, “we would think it's an important corridor.” He said South Texas in general, including the Valley, “is probably missing some of that major interstate connection. In that regard, it would be a great project for Texas.”

Richard Perez, president and CEO of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber has taken no formal position on the project but that he personally has a favorable view of the idea, given the needs of the state and South Texas in particular. “Given the congestion on I-35 ... a reliever like I-69, I think, is the right thing for the entire state,” he said.

Teclo Garcia, director of government affairs for McAllen, said advocates aren't trying to get billions of dollars immediately but are doing a piece of the project at a time.

McAllen is a member of the Alliance for I-69, whose members were at the Capitol on Wednesday. Garcia said the project is important to the Valley and to trade with Mexico.

“It's all about economic development. Economic development equals jobs and prosperity and so forth,” Garcia said. “The Valley is the largest metro area in the nation that doesn't have a connection to the interstate system... We are trying to rectify that.”

Nichols said the “big question” and one that requires focus is “how are we going to fund all these infrastructure projects?”

Nichols has filed a proposal to constitutionally dedicate the current motor vehicle sales tax to the transportation fund. Perry, meanwhile, is touting a proposal to dip into the state rainy day fund for $3.7 billion for water and transportation needs, plus redirect to transportation $1.3 billion that's now spent elsewhere from the highway fund.

The majority of the freeway will follow existing federal highways, such as U.S. 59, U.S. 77 and U.S. 281. Williams said most of the work in building I-69 is taking those highways and bringing them to federal standards with divided lanes, separation from local streets and other safety upgrades.

Those efforts require engineering and construction, which TxDOT will do as funding allows. Essentially, the one interstate is dozens of widening, redesign and rebuilding jobs across Texas. About 200 miles of the highways are already up to freeway standards or close to them.

“But it is not as simple as going out there and changing the signs,” Williams said. “There is an engineering study we have to do.”